Winners of initial state steel awards for 2016 named

The project winners in four categories of the NSW/ACT state rounds of the ASI's Steel Excellence Awards were announced at the Gala Dinner function on Friday, 15 July at Doltone House in Sydney. The transformation of a 1916 building at 5 Martin Place in Sydney’s CBD into a 20-level premium grade office building, overcame heritage constraints to win Buildings – Large Projects. Maximising steel’s loadbearing potential to create a shelter for mountain bike and BMX riders, the Wylde Trail Shelters in western Sydney topped the Buildings – Small Project stakes. Both of these awards were presented by major sponsor, Hunter Galvanizing. A new footbridge servicing the massive Barangaroo precinct along Sydney Harbour that brought to life some tricky geometries in a series of leaning steel portals skewed in perfect arrangements, was presented as the winner in the Engineering Projects category by event sponsor, Bisalloy Steels. And for Steel Clad Structures, the Crackenback Stables complex in the Snowy Mountains attracted the top accolade in this category. Beautifully clad in corrugated galvanized steel, it featured weathering steel panelling at each end, holding yards and breezeway spaces. As with the Steel Excellence Awards in the other state jurisdictions this year, these winners each go on to vie for the national honours in their respective categories to be announced at the Gala Dinner of the Australian Steel Convention at the Hyatt Melbourne on 12 September. In related news, Haydn Brown from engineering practice, Mott MacDonald won the Young Designer, Detailer, Tradesperson Award. Further details on all of these winners and those in the other states will be profiled in the next edition of Steel Australia magazine to be released directly after the Convention this September.